POP! Vinyl / POP! Rocks - "Hatsune Miku" (FUNKO)

First off I'd like to take a moment's time to thank Allison of Funko for entrusting me with these toy reviews. I feel extremely privileged to be able to deliver my thoughts, and background history on each of the three POP! Vinyl "Vocaloids" that were sent my way! Domo arigato! ...

At first glance I can tell you that I was personally beyond impressed with what I saw in regards to these latest FUNKO toy offerings. They looked absolutely stunning to say the least. Without giving away any early spoilers though I will simply state that in total I received 3 Vocaloid 'POP! Vinyl' figures. There are only three in the series (with possible exclusives), and they are each allocated to the "POP! Rocks" listing. Included in the trio are "Hatsune Miku" (which is probably the most recognizable of the group), "Kagamine Rin", and "Kagamine Len". As with all 'POP! Vinyl' figures each of the Vocaloid figures are brought to life in a super deformed way which is very similar to the "Chibi" art style that is featured in some anime series.

For those of you who do not know what the "Vocaloid" phenomenon is in relation to the anime aspect of each offered figure you'll find that it was originally a music synthesis program made to mix human vocals with synthesized sounds from various electronic instruments. It wasn't until a little later on into the early 2000's that the project expanded upon it's conventional use to include promotional characters such as "Hatsune Miku (originally, "Hachune Miku")" which were each made known by various artists through video game adaptations, virtual concerts, and specialized Japanese Vocaloid magazines. It is this pop culture phenomenon known as "Vocaloid", and the combined anime inspiration that come together collectively through artistic means in the form of these three very special 'POP! Vinyl' figures.

Blue Estate (PS4)

Video game comic book adaptations usually don't capture the core material like they should. Whether it be poor game design, or bad graphic representation of the characters involved something usually does not jive with these types of games. Often times such games fail significantly, and never gain the attention that the developer, or comic book artist had hoped for as a result of the lackluster craftsmanship. In the case of "Blue Estate" however I feel we have been gifted one of the PS4's finest console gaming experiences to date, and one that will likely draw attention to Viktor Kalvachev's comic book series. The game itself takes in account the wacky misadventures of the Luciano mob family, an off kilter private eye named Roy, and some sticky situations that two of the game's main characters wind up getting into. Both Tony Luciano, and Clarence (a hitman for hire) blast their way through gangs, rival mobs, and mob bosses who would each like to rid the Luciano family of it's most prized possessions. Blood feuds, kidnappings, horse hijackings, and even pot plant stealing are some of the strange things that you'll encounter as one of the Luciano family's contributing members.

Zen Pinball 2: Deadpool (PS3, PS4, PS VITA)

Since February of 1991, in the pages of "New Mutants #98" Deadpool (aka, Wade Winston Wilson) has been making guest appearances, and solo debuts within the Marvel Comics universe, video games, and even movies. This fan favorite anti-hero which has made himself known through his many superhero, and super villain encounters carries with him a signature brand of slapstick humor, killer martial arts skills, and some complimentary super powers. His gained powers, or abilities which were gifted unto him during the Weapon-X program include, but are not limited to regeneration, resistance to telepathic powers, immunity to toxins, and extremely slow aging. His scarred appearance which was revealed through the comic books, and X-Men movies came about as a result of the adverse effects that the Weapon-X regeneration capabilities brought along with it. Before undergoing a surgery slightly similar to that of Wolverine's, Deadpool's cancer overtook his body, and scarred it in the process severely disfiguring him. That is why he is always shown wearing his signature mask, and full body costume.

As far as battles go Deadpool has seen his fair share of fights both onscreen, and offscreen. The Hulk, Daredevil, Cable, and Wolverine are amongst the unlucky ones to have encountered this lunatic assassin, and lived to have told their tale. At one point in his timeline Deadpool had his head bashed in by the Hulk, and was even decapitated by Wolverine. Even with these mortal wounds though he was able to regenerate, and continue doing what he does best. In the early years of Deadpool's comic book history you'll find that he was more of a serious character with a bit of psychosis, and didn't develop his unique brand of humor until later on. It is this latter iteration of the anti-hero known as Deadpool that you'll find in Zen Studio's kid friendly 'Deadpool' Pinball table. Even with the "E" rating though you'll be pleasantly surprised to know that Deadpool works his way around the rating system quite nicely, and that in doing so his sarcastic charm never fades as the pinball bings around the table hitting the intended targets triggering his wacky actions, and reactions as it does so.

Magical Beat (PS VITA)

Magical Beat is a delightful little pixelated puzzle game filled with five modes of play, a wacky cast of characters, a unique beat based gameplay system, and an underlying story about the world's inhabitants who were left in the wake of a great world war. At heart it's a game not unlike 'Tetris', or 'Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo". The only real difference between it, and the previously mentioned puzzle games lies with the applied art style, the Japanese songs that are included, and the beat based gameplay that helps the player to decide when it's best to drop the current block ...

Battle Princess of Arcadias (PS3)

Complicated, and demanding are two adjectives that immediately come to mind when I think of "Battle Princess of Arcadias". The game which is a blend of strategy, and action starts off smoothly with the usual character, and plot introductions then quickly escalates in complexity with the introduction of an overbearing battle system. It is this battle system, and the applied character/unit leveling that more often than not will leave the player ill-prepared for the sieges, and skirmishes ahead. Before I jump the gun with gameplay explanations let me explain the story behind the fairy tale title ...

At the start of "Battle Princess of Arcadias" we find Princess Plume (who looks a lot like the princess from "Child of Light"), the proclaimed "Battle Princess" tending to the fallen princess brigade members who each have been fatally wounded by a dragon that looks as if it were ripped straight from Pokemon lore. Despite the overwhelming odds Princess Plume stands her ground against the beast, and scares it away for the time being. Unfortunately even after the gained momentary victory the remaining fallen soldier that the Princess had aimed to save prior to the epic fight dies leaving a final request that a man by the name, "Raltz" should take his place as her protector. Soon afterwards the transformed goose king, and other whimsical characters come into the picture adding depth, and variation to the ever-growing story. The story, as it were is one of betrayal, medieval espionage, and outright conquering. Some of the characters involved play a behind-the-scenes role while others are main players within the game's story, and battles. Additional elements such as NISA's signature naughty humor, and fun loving RPG antics are all thrown in the mix as well as a part of the game's core experience. While the Princess is brave enough to face the threats ahead you will find it will take some morale boosting as well as proper recruiting, and equipping to take on the more challenging confrontations that are in store for the kingdom of "Schwert".

Gamestop's "Renew or Die" Program

About a week, or more ago I received an odd, and menacing looking email from Gamestop. It was in regards to my soon to expire membership. The email heading was bluntly titled as, "Renew or Die". I thought it may have been a hacked email message, or either that someone over at Gamestop had gone over the deep end. As I came to find out it was the latter. Gamestop obviously finds it humorous to send fake death threats to motivate their customers to renew their subscriptions. I personally did not find it funny at all, and honestly may not renew my membership, because of it. I managed to capture a screen shot of a significant portion of the email, and will be sharing that with you. I hope this article gets tons of page views as it would serve as a proper lesson to Gamestop on what not to do when it comes to promoting their services.